KARACHI: Chief of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi chapter Monem Zafar on Tuesday strongly condemned the act attributed to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of forcibly pulling the Hijab of a Muslim woman doctor, terming it a clear manifestation of Islamophobia and the Hindutva mindset.
He was addressing a protest organised by the Women’s Wing of Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi here to denounce the incident in Bihar. A large number of women participated in the demonstration, holding banners and placards with slogans against rising Islamophobia in India.
Zafar said that Hindutva ideology has gone beyond being a mere belief and has now taken the form of a state attitude and organised prejudice in India. He emphasised that the incident in Bihar was neither isolated nor the first of its kind, but part of a continuing pattern of discrimination against Muslims. Referring to a past incident involving a college student named Muskan, he said that many such cases never even reach the media.
He stated that despite being a multi-religious and multi-national country, minorities in India remain unsafe. Muslims, he added, are subjected to violence and brutality under various pretexts, including cow protection. He questioned the silence of so-called human rights activists who, he said, selectively raise their voices while ignoring atrocities against women and minorities in India.
Expressing concern over the broader global situation, Zafar also lamented the silence of rulers of the Muslim world over atrocities being committed against women and girls in Gaza, as well as the silence of international human rights organizations on these issues.
He further said that restrictions on Hijab are not limited to India, noting that women face punishment for wearing Hijab in Germany, bans are spreading across the Western world, and similar restrictions were imposed earlier this year in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
The protest was also addressed by Secretary General Jamaat-e-Islami Women’s Wing Pakistan Dr Humaira Tariq. Among others present were Deputy Secretaries of the Women’s Wing Pakistan Samina Saeed, Samiha Raheel Qazi and Atiya Nisar, Sindh Province Head Rakhshanda Muneeb, Karachi Head Jawadan Faheem, provincial shura member and psychologist Anila Mahmood, and Karachi Information Secretary Samreen Ahmed.
Dr Humaira Tariq expressed solidarity with the affected female doctor in India and said the Bihar Chief Minister had grossly misused his position and openly violated constitutional provisions guaranteeing religious freedom. She stated that the act amounted to a violation of at least four articles of the Indian Constitution.
She stressed that the protest was not only about one Muslim woman, but about all women and humanity at large. She said Muslims, Sikhs and followers of other religions in India have long been facing discrimination and serious difficulties.
Terming the incident extremely shameful and condemnable, Dr Humaira Tariq said that mere resignation of the chief minister would not be sufficient. She demanded strict punishment under India’s constitution and law so that such acts are never repeated.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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